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Sturm: Bryan McCann has 'special' quality to him; win quiets Bill Cowher/Jon Gruden talk for at least a week
Bob Sturm / Contributor
SportsDayDFW phoned The Ticket's Bob Sturm to comment on the Cowboys' win over the Lions. The following is a transcription of the interview:
What is it about Bryan McCann that allows him to spark an entire team? That's two straight weeks with game-changing plays.
There's no doubt that he has a special quality about him in that when he touches the ball, you can just feel the game-breaking potential he has, which is incredibly uncommon for a practice squad player to possess. We saw this initially in Green Bay with simple kick returns in his NFL debut and thought immediately he's certainly worthy of getting much more action, at least in the kick return game. But both of those plays he made the last two weeks, which were both game-changing and game-winning, will be something to stay in Cowboys lore, which is a great story, especially given his local ties.
How weird is it to see one play change everything, given how bad the Cowboys looked prior to that interception?
In some respects, that's the beauty of the sport. You think you have a game in control and Detroit, with that safety early in the 3rd and then of course the touchdown before halftime, seemed to have all of the momentum. What makes this particular play especially remarkable was that it initially looked like a really positive play for Detroit -- a punt that was going to make the Cowboys start in the shadow of their own goalpost. For him to have the presence of mind, and really just the confidence in himself, it's a play where a lot of bad can happen, and for him to have the football sense to try and turn the game or at least get the Cowboys out of a bind, is a really special moment, especially coming off his game-changing moment from the week before. The game was certainly not completely lost at that moment, but it was circling the drain quickly. For a guy we had never heard of a month ago to save the game is pretty remarkable.
You mentioned the touchdown before halftime, which the Lions got because of a late Cowboys fumble. Why run a play deep in your zone after the Washington fiasco?
In this league, you've got to be able to call a simple handoff play up the middle and not feel like you're taking a gigantic gamble. You've got to be able to trust your running back to put the ball away. Obviously in retrospect, the absolute safest play to make is to take a knee, but that's a rather harsh second guess to put on your play caller. Football is a rather simple game when it comes to a handoff to be able to depend on your runner not to put the ball on the ground. I do give credit to the Cowboys, after that fumble and the safety, a sequence where it looked like the offensive line was coming apart at the seams. Credit much be given to the Cowboys for responding to adversity like a pro team should, rather than their response a few weeks ago that got their coach fired.
Would a loss basically have crippled Jason Garrett's chances of becoming coach if he to become the first guy in 26 tries to lose to the Lions at home?
I believe a loss to Detroit would have been extremely damaging to the Jason Garrett camp and the premise that he's the next permanent coach for the Cowboys. That's clearly a game that they need to win to solidify a lot of things around here, including the job that he's doing. There's no question that by sundown, the calls for Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher would have returned if the Cowboys didn't have the 2nd half that they did. We can only wonder if the game plays differently if Bryan McCann doesn't make the play that he did, because it seemed to turn the entire game. Detroit looked dazed for several minutes after that as further mistakes came their way.
Outside of McCann, who else impressed you today?
Obviously the return of Jason Hatcher seemed to revitalize the pass rush. That was as balanced as we've seen all season. Jay Ratliff has been double-teamed quite a bit. It looks like when you can get pressure from other spots on the inside, then Ratliff is freed up to do more damage himself. So I would say the defensive line came on strong.
We also have to credit Jon Kitna's second half and the way he found his rhythm, because the first half was awful for pretty much everyone on the offense after that first drive.
Any negatives?
To point out what i didn't like, I would clearly start with the offensive line, which after a great week in New York, certainly appeared to return to their old form. We talked Friday in the gameplan about the test that the interior of the offensive line would be facing against Corey Williams and Ndomakong Suh, and for most of the game, it appeared the Cowboys' line failed badly. Moving forward, we certainly shouldn't lose sight of a drastic need for improvement from their performance. Further down the road, addressing personnel improvements in that department through the draft and free agency. Most weeks this season, they have been manhandled, including today.
All the players seemed excited and unified on the sidelines at the end of the game. Is this part of a Garrett culture change, or simply a product of winning?
I really think winning changes everything. I know that these athletes put immense pressure on themselves and they can certainly read and hear what people say. To string consecutive wins together might just allow them to feel a little bit better about the team they've assembled this year. They still have major flaws, but their mind, their collective minds, aren't as screwed up as they were a few weeks ago, which is why the coaching change was one of the easiest decisions in Cowboys history in my opinion. They can simply get back to playing football and finding solutions to those problems rather than all of the weight of the world that was on them seemingly a few weeks ago.
Bob Sturm / Contributor
SportsDayDFW phoned The Ticket's Bob Sturm to comment on the Cowboys' win over the Lions. The following is a transcription of the interview:
What is it about Bryan McCann that allows him to spark an entire team? That's two straight weeks with game-changing plays.
There's no doubt that he has a special quality about him in that when he touches the ball, you can just feel the game-breaking potential he has, which is incredibly uncommon for a practice squad player to possess. We saw this initially in Green Bay with simple kick returns in his NFL debut and thought immediately he's certainly worthy of getting much more action, at least in the kick return game. But both of those plays he made the last two weeks, which were both game-changing and game-winning, will be something to stay in Cowboys lore, which is a great story, especially given his local ties.
How weird is it to see one play change everything, given how bad the Cowboys looked prior to that interception?
In some respects, that's the beauty of the sport. You think you have a game in control and Detroit, with that safety early in the 3rd and then of course the touchdown before halftime, seemed to have all of the momentum. What makes this particular play especially remarkable was that it initially looked like a really positive play for Detroit -- a punt that was going to make the Cowboys start in the shadow of their own goalpost. For him to have the presence of mind, and really just the confidence in himself, it's a play where a lot of bad can happen, and for him to have the football sense to try and turn the game or at least get the Cowboys out of a bind, is a really special moment, especially coming off his game-changing moment from the week before. The game was certainly not completely lost at that moment, but it was circling the drain quickly. For a guy we had never heard of a month ago to save the game is pretty remarkable.
You mentioned the touchdown before halftime, which the Lions got because of a late Cowboys fumble. Why run a play deep in your zone after the Washington fiasco?
In this league, you've got to be able to call a simple handoff play up the middle and not feel like you're taking a gigantic gamble. You've got to be able to trust your running back to put the ball away. Obviously in retrospect, the absolute safest play to make is to take a knee, but that's a rather harsh second guess to put on your play caller. Football is a rather simple game when it comes to a handoff to be able to depend on your runner not to put the ball on the ground. I do give credit to the Cowboys, after that fumble and the safety, a sequence where it looked like the offensive line was coming apart at the seams. Credit much be given to the Cowboys for responding to adversity like a pro team should, rather than their response a few weeks ago that got their coach fired.
Would a loss basically have crippled Jason Garrett's chances of becoming coach if he to become the first guy in 26 tries to lose to the Lions at home?
I believe a loss to Detroit would have been extremely damaging to the Jason Garrett camp and the premise that he's the next permanent coach for the Cowboys. That's clearly a game that they need to win to solidify a lot of things around here, including the job that he's doing. There's no question that by sundown, the calls for Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher would have returned if the Cowboys didn't have the 2nd half that they did. We can only wonder if the game plays differently if Bryan McCann doesn't make the play that he did, because it seemed to turn the entire game. Detroit looked dazed for several minutes after that as further mistakes came their way.
Outside of McCann, who else impressed you today?
Obviously the return of Jason Hatcher seemed to revitalize the pass rush. That was as balanced as we've seen all season. Jay Ratliff has been double-teamed quite a bit. It looks like when you can get pressure from other spots on the inside, then Ratliff is freed up to do more damage himself. So I would say the defensive line came on strong.
We also have to credit Jon Kitna's second half and the way he found his rhythm, because the first half was awful for pretty much everyone on the offense after that first drive.
Any negatives?
To point out what i didn't like, I would clearly start with the offensive line, which after a great week in New York, certainly appeared to return to their old form. We talked Friday in the gameplan about the test that the interior of the offensive line would be facing against Corey Williams and Ndomakong Suh, and for most of the game, it appeared the Cowboys' line failed badly. Moving forward, we certainly shouldn't lose sight of a drastic need for improvement from their performance. Further down the road, addressing personnel improvements in that department through the draft and free agency. Most weeks this season, they have been manhandled, including today.
All the players seemed excited and unified on the sidelines at the end of the game. Is this part of a Garrett culture change, or simply a product of winning?
I really think winning changes everything. I know that these athletes put immense pressure on themselves and they can certainly read and hear what people say. To string consecutive wins together might just allow them to feel a little bit better about the team they've assembled this year. They still have major flaws, but their mind, their collective minds, aren't as screwed up as they were a few weeks ago, which is why the coaching change was one of the easiest decisions in Cowboys history in my opinion. They can simply get back to playing football and finding solutions to those problems rather than all of the weight of the world that was on them seemingly a few weeks ago.